Find Senior Care (City or Zip)
Join Now Log In
K
KathleenQ Asked April 2023

Veteran’s benefits. Any advice?

My friend’s husband was a veteran and now has moderate Alzheimer’s. My friend says they were discouraged from applying for benefits because of long waiting lists. His isn’t a service related issue and they are all backed up with Veteran’s requests who had served in recent wars. Can anyone suggest a way he could at least get a home health aide from the VA? A long waiting list means he will be dead before getting any benefits.

Grandma1954 Apr 2023
It does not matter if the wait is long.
Any benefit would be retroactive to the date of the application.
The classifications of "service connected disability" change all the time.
Your friend should contact the local Veterans Assistance Commission. Every County has at least 1 office. They can help determine what benefits he may qualify for. And even if there is not a% of disability attached there are programs that may help. My Husband was not diagnosed with a service connected disability but the VA programs helped a LOT. He was in Day Care for a while, there were other programs I found after he got "kicked out" of Day Care.
It is ALWAYS worth looking into.

OH...and there is a good possibility that SHE can get paid to care for him. This is a change in the past 5 -6 years.

XenaJada Apr 2023
The fact that there is a long wait is all the more reason to go ahead and apply now. I know several people who have successfully gotten benefits for wartime veterans. If she’s intimidated by the paperwork, she should contact someone who can help her.

ADVERTISEMENT


JoAnn29 Apr 2023
If he served during a war he may be able to get Aid and Attendance. It may pay enough to hire an aide. Her County VA department may be able to help. In my Dads paperwork, there was a paper saying he was entitled to VA benefits.

babsjvd Apr 2023
Contact your county VA office , (not VA) if you cannot find that info your county office of aged and disabilities probably can guide you, and they are also a good resource.

NeedHelpWithMom Apr 2023
Regardless of how long the wait is, she still needs to apply.

How old is he? They will speed up the process if a person is at an advanced age.

Has he contacted Council on Aging in his area? They will do a needs assessment. If he qualifies he will receive help for a certain amount of hours per month.

C on A will do light housekeeping, prepare and serve meals, help bathe a person, et. They will also have a waiting list so do it as soon as possible.

I hope that he receives help soon.

ADVERTISEMENT

Ask a Question

Subscribe to
Our Newsletter